Landowner says Noel’s Pond flood problem going on too long

An excavator operator with Marine Contractors talks with a Transportation and Works supervisor at the bridge in the community of Noel’s Pond where flooding took place Saturday, closing the road to traffic as water was built up on it. - Star file photo

In the wake of the latest flooding in the community of Noel’s Pond, a resident is calling for something to be done about this recurring problem.

Don Cormier said nothing has been done in Noel’s Pond since the early 1970s when the problem first started occurring, and it’s time for MHA John Finn to go to the government and get the departments concerned, along with representatives of the Town of Stephenville and some landowners in Noel’s Pond, together to figure out a solution.

He says the problem was caused by the Town of Stephenville installing a dam at the end of their former Noel’s Pond water supply on the former Ernest Harmon Air Force Base.

He said a former railway spur line in the community of Noel’s Pond is also adding to the problem, as is a problem with a bridge with no channel under it and silt built up.

Cormier said there’s also no channel left above or below the bridge, and it needs to be trenched out so high water and trees that come down Warm Creek can go under it.

Twice last summer representatives of Noel’s Pond asked government representatives to dredge under the bridge, but it wasn’t done, he said.

“We (government and community representatives) just need to sit down and figure this out,” Cormier said.

He said he has land in Noel’s Pond that’s now considered to be in a flood zone, but it shouldn’t be in a flood zone.

John Finn, MHA for Stephenville-Port au Port, said having spent more than an hour in Noel’s Pond on Monday with farm owner Don White it is clear what devastation can occur in this area.

Finn said Transportation and Works Minister Steve Crocker was with him for a portion of the visit, and he and his officials are well aware flooding in Noel’s Pond is an ongoing problem that needs to be addressed.

Finn said he is open and committed to meeting with anyone who wants to talk about flooding.

“I’m optimistic that getting everyone together might bring a solution,” he said.

Don Cormier, a landowner in Noel’s Pond, with the bridge on the Hansen Highway in the community behind him that he feels needs to be dredged out underneath.